


I'm Not In Love

by therosequeen



Category: A Little Less Sixteen Candles - Fandom, Bandom, Cobra Starship, Dandies - Fandom, Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Panic! at the Disco, The Academy Is...
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - A Little Less Sixteen Candles (Music Video), F/M, M/M, Multi, Vampires, alternate universe- dandies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 06:53:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1973103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therosequeen/pseuds/therosequeen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>William Beckett is not in love. Not with a human.<br/>-<br/>He was always so serious. Compared to the men he reigned over, he was stern, weighty. He almost never smiled. But when he did… oh, when he did, it was either because he was causing pain… or planning to. He never lied. William Beckett never lied; only tricked. He could play games with your mind. He could endlessly torture you with nightmares. He was pure malicious. He was driving her to pure madness. He was something no one could ever love. If that was so, then why on Earth had Brielle accepted William’s offer? Why was she sitting in the backseat of a black Toyota Corolla with his aide-de-camp driving and his sidekick sitting in the passenger’s seat?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Uninvited](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/62040) by alphadisaster. 



> Eilonwy attempts writing in third person and is bad at it.
> 
> Based on so many of alphadisaster's (from Mibba) wonderful fics. Jess is a gem.

He was always so serious. Compared to the men he reigned over, he was stern, weighty. He almost never smiled. But when he did… oh, when he did, it was either because he was causing pain… or planning to. He never lied. William Beckett never lied; only tricked. He could play games with your mind. He could endlessly torture you with nightmares. He was pure malicious.

He was driving her to pure madness. He was something no one could ever love. If that was so, then why on Earth had Brielle accepted William’s offer? Why was she sitting in the backseat of a black Toyota Corolla with his aide-de-camp driving and his sidekick sitting in the passenger’s seat?

“Just hear him out,” the brunette had said. Brielle was taller than him, which made her feel better, if only slightly. He had a funny haircut, shaved on the sides, all the hair on the top. It worked for him. “He’ll make a deal if he has to.”

“I know he makes deals.” She’d told him, her voice shuddering. She didn’t feel safe, even if she was the one in the house and they were the ones standing on the front porch. She didn’t feel safe, even though she hadn’t invited them in. She knew they couldn’t come inside unless she invited them in. But she still didn’t feel safe. “And when he makes deals, he always turns them around and tricks the other person.”

“William never lies.” The other had stepped forward defensively, his black hair swishing across his shoulders.

Brielle had instinctively backed up. “I never said he lied. I said he tricked.”

“He can give you anything you want.” The brunette again. “Anything at all. All you have to do is ask for it.”

“William has nothing I want.” She’d whispered, and went to close the door. She wanted no more of this conversation; no more of this… William Beckett.

The short man put his hand out and shoved the door back open, causing Brielle to stumble.

“But you have what William wants. And we were instructed not to leave here until we acquired it.”

Brielle jutted her chin out, trying to look (and feel) confident. “Then you’ll be here for quite a while, I’m afraid.”

“As long as William gets what he wants,” The brunette stared directly into her eyes. “Then you’ll be perfectly safe for the rest of your life.”

\---

Those words had been the turning point. The reason she’d stepped out of her house; out of her safe zone.

She half-expected them to attack her; bleed her dry. They didn’t and instead had led her to the car they were now in. It took about thirty minutes of excruciating silence to drive from Hammond, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois. She knew there was no turning back now. There was probably never a choice to turn back.

The black-haired man, who was much taller than the brunette, stepped out of the passenger’s side door and began to stride towards the three-story tall mansion, while the other man opened Brielle’s door.

When she stepped out of the car, she expected to be able to take in the scenery, to gasp at how large the house was, but it was so dark that she could barely see the ground in front of her.

The man held out a porcelain white-skinned hand and Brielle took it, letting herself be led towards the door of the house.

That’s when she began to get nervous. Her hands were shaking, her heart beat increased, and she started taking in giant gulps of air.

Her guide stopped in front of the door, pulling a key out of his pocket and shoving it into the lock. “It would be best you calm down before we enter. The newborns don’t quite know how to control themselves yet and your anxiety is causing your blood to pump quicker through your veins.”

Because that calmed her. Knowing that there were more inside the house, more of them that wanted to kill her didn’t ease her anxiety. It didn’t at all.

When he slid open the door and the taller one stalked inside, he took her hand again.

Brielle caught one look inside, saw heads of hair, heard the chuckles, and jerked her hand back. The man turned to look at her and when he saw her face twisting into nervousness, he leaned towards her.

“They can sense fear.” He whispered in her ear, smirked, and wrapped his hand around her arm, jerking her inside.

The voices ceased completely. Brielle closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see the hunger on their faces. And after the man had led her up a flight of stairs and through a door, she heard his voice.

“Thank you, Brendon. You may leave.”

The man, who now had a name, dropped Brielle’s arm and she panicked at first. She obviously didn’t feel safe with Brendon, but she felt pure terror at the thought of being left alone with William Beckett. She knew too much about him. More than any human should ever know. That was probably why he’d gotten his goons to bring her here. So he could kill her and not have to worry about her spreading his weaknesses.

A door closed and Brendon was gone. Brielle was alone with William now. Her eyes were still closed and she could hear every sound he made. And by God if he didn’t move closer to her and chuckle.  
“Open your eyes, child. I promise I’m not that unpleasant to look at.”

Brielle tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it didn’t go anywhere. She didn’t want to open her eyes. Knowing he was there, in front of her, was one thing. But seeing him there was another. It would usher in a whole new wave of fear.

But she knew she couldn’t keep her eyes squeezed shut forever. She’d have to face him. If she was going to die, she wasn’t going to let herself be killed without looking into the eyes of the man who was doing it.

And so she opened her eyes.

“There, now. Isn’t that better?”

Brielle’s breath caught in her throat. This man wasn’t William Beckett. William Beckett had wavy, brunette hair that barely touched his shoulders. This man… this man had short, brown hair that swooped over his forehead. He looked nothing like the monster that William Beckett was. This man was all gentle smiles and kind eyes.

“I know,” he let out a sigh and smiled at her. “I wasn’t what you expected.”

“Who are you?” Brielle’s voice was barely a whisper, but the sound of it evoked another smile out of this man.

“I have left my days of terrorizing the city of Chicago long behind me.”

“You cut your hair.”

“A dubious choice, since vampires are unable to regrow hair.”

“If… if you’re not the one running the streets of Chicago anymore…”

“The Cobras are the ones killing people. The Dandies only take what we need now. Saporta has put me out of business.”

“Then why am I here? What do you want from me?”

Again, William smiled. “Something only you can give me.”

Brielle was afraid to ask. She felt like she already knew. But she asked anyway. “And what’s that?”

“You.”


	2. Chapter Two

“Me?”

“Not to mention you know quite a bit about the Dandies, which worries me. I don’t want you to fall into the wrong hands.”

Brielle takes in a breath of air. “You’re the wrong hands.”

William laughs; a light and airy laugh which Brielle’s positive old William would have never done.

“I promised you that if you gave me what I wanted, you’d be safe for the rest of your life.”

“Yes, that’s what Brendon told me.”

“What I want is you and if you oblige, then I can assure your safety.”

“Safety from who? You? Will you kill me if I don’t give in?”

“Child, I am the least of your worries. Saporta is who you have to worry about.”

“Saporta,” Brielle says slowly, tasting his name on her tongue. “He’s… the Cobra leader?”

“Exactly.”

“And… you want me. Why? Because you’ve fallen madly in love with me? Isn’t that usually what happens? Why you kidnap girls?”

This time when William laughs, he’s laughing at her.

“Oh, darling, no, of course not. I’m not as weak as you perceive me to be. I just want to keep you out of Saporta’s hands. If he gets a hold of you, he’ll know how to take me down. And I can’t have that, now can I?”

She blushes and wraps her arms around her body, hugging herself. “And if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll kill you.”

He’s still blunt, that’s for sure.

“Look, sweetheart, this isn’t a petty game we’re playing here. This is war; vampire clan versus vampire clan. The Cobras and Dandies have been fighting for decades now. I refuse to fall by Saporta’s hand. And if he gets you, he’ll use you against me. So do you see why I have to kill you if you refuse?”

“I’d like to help you,” (she really doesn’t want to help him) “But I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about you or the Dandies. I think you have the wrong girl.”

In a millisecond, William moves towards her and grasps her throat, slamming and pinning her against the wall. Brielle wheezes, fighting for breath, the force of impact knocked it out of her.

“You’re a hideous liar, Brielle, and I don’t have time for games.” William is snarling. Looks like old Beckett has returned. “I’m being generous and allowing you to live instead of killing you, which would be easier on me in the long run. Give me your answer now, so I can go ahead and put you out of your misery if you decline my offer.”

She doesn’t doubt he would kill her. She knows he would. She stares directly into his eyes and says, “Okay.”

William releases her neck and turns on his heel, calling out for Brendon.

 

* * *

 

“Gabe, we have bad news for you.”

“That’s all you ever bring me these days, isn’t it?”

Gabe watches Vicky enter the room, Nate and Ryland trailing her. What could they possibly tell him now that he didn’t already know? Gabe plopps himself down on the loveseat, carding a hand through his hair, and waits for this inevitable “bad news”.

“Well?” he asks when Vicky hesitates and only stares at his feet.

She pushes Nate forward. “You tell him.”

“Me?” Nate squeakes out, already cowering in front of Gabe.

Gabe hasn’t even done anything yet and here’s Novarro cowering in his presence. He’s beginning to dread this bad news.

Gabe stands, impatience showing on his face. “Spit it out! What is it?”

“Well, um, Gabe, sir, it seems that, well-”

Ryland steps forward, moving to stand in front of Nate. “It seems that Beckett has acquired the girl. We’re not sure if she’s taken his deal yet, but we can assume that she has. The only other option he would have is to kill her. And she remains alive.”

Gabe sets his jaw, inhaling slowly through his nose.

Vicky moves forward. “Now, Gabe, hon, please stay calm before-”

Nate squeaks and pulls Ryland closer when a table lamp becomes airborne, crashing into the wall and falling to the ground in shattered pieces.

“Stay calm! Stay calm, Gabe!” Gabe spits out sarcastically. “Beckett only has the thing that you need to ruin him! It isn’t a big deal! Stay calm!”

A stack of papers rustles as Gabe launches them and they flutter to the ground. This is awful news. Horrible news. All he needed was that girl and then he would be the one laughing as Beckett’s clan ceased to exist. Now he’s lost his chance to grab the girl and Beckett has her instead.

“Beckett,” he growls out. He despises that man more than anything.

“Gabe, it’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?! Beckett has the one thing I needed to take him down with.”

“Why do they hate each other anyway?” Nate whispers towards Vicky.

Gabe’s head snapps towards Nate. “That man ruined my life.”

“And he thinks the same of you.” Vicky points out.

“Shut the hell up. Get out! I need to think of something. I need a plan.”

Nate takes his chance to scamper out of the room and Ryland follows behind much slower.

“Gabe,” Vicky takes a step towards him and places her hand on his shoulder. “You’re overreacting. We can get the girl. We just need to be creative about it.”

“It won’t be easy.” He growls, placing his hands on the window sill and scowling out the window.

“No, it won’t. But he’s weak. He’s lost so many of his stronger members. We overpower him.”

Gabe lets a sigh escape his lips and his expression softens. “You’re right.” He says, turning to meet Vicky’s eyes.

“I’m always right.” Vicky removes her hand from Gabe’s shoulder and leaves the room.

“Always right…” Gabe mutters, turning back to watch his newborns stalk up the driveway.

 

* * *

 

Brielle takes in a deep, shuddery breath.

“I’m Spencer.” A man says, sticking his hand out.

She hesitantly shakes it and glances at his face.

“I’m assigned to keep an eye on you, get you anything you need, and keep you safe.

He has dark brown hair, cut short and clean. His eyes are this beautiful cerulean color and kind-looking. He’s big, kind of built, but it isn’t what she’d call muscle. It isn’t chub either. It suits him.

“That being said,” Spencer crosses his arms over his chest and leans backwards a bit. “Is there anything you need?”

“I have a need to feel safe.” she mutters and tears my eyes from his.

“That’s why I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“I need to go home.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

She sighs and meet his eyes again. “I need my journal.” she whispers.

Spencer blinks, looks taken aback. “I… I can get you your journal.”

“Thank you.” Brielle says and he calls out, “Carden!”

The black haired vampire from earlier appears next to Spencer and Brielle jumps.

“And so the day came when I had to take orders from Spencer Smith.” He says, spite and sarcasm lacing his tone.

Spencer narrows his eyes. “Her journal. I need you to go to her house and get it.”

“But of course, Mr. Smith.” Carden says and bows mockingly, a smirk visible on his face when he straightens back up. He disappears before Spencer can snap back.

“You guys can… teleport.” Brielle says slowly.

“You should know that. You know everything about the Dandies, apparently.” He replies and starts to walk out of the room.

She follows. “I don’t study you directly. I get my information from someone else. I like to put two-and-two together.”

Spencer stops abruptly and she stops, too.

“You don’t-” Spencer cards a hand through his hair and turns to face her. “You don’t get this information yourself?”

“I just told you I get it from someone else.”

“Who?” he snaps. Brielle jumps.

“This guy. His name is Andy.”

“Shit,” he drawls out, closing his eyes. He opens them again. “How does he get the information?”

“I… I don’t know. I mean, I assume he gets it from his friend. Who gets it from this other guy.”

“His friend? What’s his friend’s name?”

“I don’t-”

“What’s his friend’s name?!”

“I don’t know! I don’t remember!”

“Goddamnit!”

“Dirty! His friend gets it from this guy named Dirty. That’s all I know! I swear!”

Spencer’s brows knit. “Dirty?”

“Yeah, I thought it was a stupid name, too. It’s probably a nickname.”

Spencer is walking away as she says this and she hurries after him, not wanting to be left alone where other vampires in this place can get to her.

Spencer gets to the door he’s looking for and knocks, sharp and urgent. “William!”

Brendon is the one who opens the door. “What is it?”

“I need to speak with William.” Spencer says and pushes his way past Brendon.

Brielle meets Brendon’s eyes and then hurriedly follows after Spencer. She hears the door close shortly after.

“What seems to be the problem?” William asks, standing from his seat in front of a desk.

“She gets the information from someone else.”

“Excuse me?” William asks.

“She,” Spencer gestures towards Brielle. “gets the information about us from someone else.”

William glances at her. “Is that so.”

“I just get it from a friend. From Andy. He gets it from his friend. His friend gets it from this guy named Dirty.”

William’s eyebrows rise sharply. “Dirty?”

“I know, it’s-”

“Well, it seems we have a traitor in the midst, don’t we, boys? Brendon, would be you so kind as to bring Dirty to me?”

“Of course, sir.” Brendon says and disappears from the room.

“A traitor?” Brielle asks. A traitor in the Dandie’s clan?

“Nothing you need to worry your pretty, little head over.” William tells her with a wide smile.

“William,” Spencer begins, whispering his words. “There are more people that know.”

“So it seems.”

“What do we do?”

“I believe that the answer is pretty clear. I don’t want Saporta to get ahold of these others. We have what we need already,” he glances at Brielle. “, so we kill them.”

“Kill them?” she chokes out.

“Of course. They’re a danger to me. It’s an easy way to diffuse the situation.”

“You can’t kill them!” her voice cracks and all she can think about is Andy. He can’t kill Andy. Not Andy.

“And why on Earth not, Brielle?”

She wants to shudder at the way he says her name.

“Oh, I understand.” He purrs and moves closer to her. “Andy is, what, your lover?”

“No,” she whispers and keeps her gaze from meeting his.

“You fancy him, then, yes? Is that it?”

She doesn’t respond.

“Andy’s pulled a number on you, sweetheart. Do you know how long he’s been lying to you? Has he told you what he does?”

“Andy’s not a liar!” She shouts and, shit, no, not the tears. Don’t cry in front of William Beckett. She’s stronger than that.

William’s smile grows. “He must have you wrapped around his little finger to have you think so highly of him. Do you know what he does for a living?”

He’s circling her now and she doesn’t like him being behind her. She feels like prey. He has the advantage.

“He works at the organic food market in town.” She whispers, and there are so many tears now. William’s terrifying. She doesn’t trust him.

She hears him chuckle behind her, “Brielle,” and then she can feel his breath on her left ear. “He’s a hunter.”

She squeezes her eyes shut and opens them again. When William places his hand on her shoulder, she jerks away and moves towards Spencer. His job is to keep her safe, right? Can he keep her safe from William Beckett?

“William, you’re scaring her.” Spencer says, grabbing Brielle’s arm and pulling her to him. He understands. Thank fucking God one of these deranged vampires understands.

"And, did you know?" William continues. "That Pete is a vampire too?"

Brielle has her face hidden in her hands and she’s sobbing. She’s starting to hyperventilate.

“Brielle,” William purrs and he’s in front of her. She can’t see him, but she knows he’s in front of her. She can feel it.

“You’re going to have a panic attack if you don’t take your hands away from your face.” He whispers and his fingers wrap around her wrists, pulling her hands from her face.

She’s shaking now. She keeps her eyes closed. She can’t do this.

“Open your eyes, Brielle.” He says.

“I don’t want to see you.” She whimpers and burrows into Spencer’s side.

“I’m still here whether you see me or not.”

When she moves her hands towards her face again to hide, he catches them and keeps them away.

“You can’t get oxygen if you hide your face like that.”

“Don’t kill Andy.” she says and it sounds like she’s pleading. Shit, now she’s _begging_ William Beckett. How low could someone possibly get?

“And then what else would you suggest I do?” he says and it’s strange because he’s being gentle and his voice his soft.

“Don’t kill him.” she whispers and her shoulders shake as new tears form and she starts to sob again.

Brielle hears him sigh and tell Spencer, “Take her to her room so she can calm down.”

She hears Spencer say, “Yes, sir.” And he grabs her arm and pulls her along with him carefully.

She hears the door open as Spencer begins to pull her through it and she finally opens her eyes. She opens her eyes and she looks frantically towards William.

“Don’t kill him.” she says and she’s scared. He’ll kill Andy.

“I won’t.”

“Promise! Promise me you won’t kill him! Swear!”

He stares at her and then he says, “I swear I won’t kill him.”

And William Beckett never lies.


	3. Chapter Three

“Brendon,”

Brendon straightens up and says, “Yes?”

“Would you be so kind as to fetch me Brielle?” William doesn’t even look up from what he’s writing as he says it.

And hell, if it doesn’t piss Brendon off.

“Of course.”

Brendon walks out of the room and stalks to the door that has Spencer standing guard in front of it. When Spencer sees him, he smiles and Brendon smirks.

“William would like to speak with your highness, princess Brielle.” Brendon tells him, sarcasm etching his words.

Spencer lets out a small laugh. “Alright.” And knocks on Brielle’s door.

Brielle opens it and by that time, Brendon has long since been gone.

“William wants to talk with you.”

Brielle freezes a moment and then says, “Oh,” She lets herself be ushered to him.

Spencer knocks on the door and when William opens it, he says, “If you don’t mind, Spencer, I’d like to speak to Brielle alone.”

She’s already in the room when he says it and she can’t turn around now.

“Of course.” Spencer says and turns to walk away.

Brielle’s fidgety. She’s alone with William and it isn’t comfortable. She wants Spencer here. She shouldn’t have let him leave. He’s supposed to protect her, not leave her.

“You’ll be fine.” William says when he notices how nervous she is.

There’s silence. William makes his way over to the desk and then to Brielle. A dark, leather-bound journal is entering her line of vision and she looks up.

“Carden gave it to me. He thought it suspicious.”

He pulls her hand to him and places the journal in it. Brielle curls her fingers around it.

“You lied.”

Brielle looks up to meet his eyes.

“You told Spencer you didn’t know who Andy’s friend was.”

“I don’t know his name. I don’t know who Andy talks to, to get this information.”

“And yet still you lie.” William says, walking away.

“Patrick,” she whispers. “His name is Patrick. He tells me what Dirty sends him. Gives me the pictures. I write it down. Connect it to the stuff he’s told me before. I figure things out.”

“So you’re the brains of the operation. And why is that?”

“Patrick says that Dirty won’t tell him directly. That he has to figure it out himself. He couldn’t do it, so Andy got me to do it.”

“And you never knew they were hunters.”

“No,” she whispers, suddenly embarrassed that she had never known. “Where’s Dirty?” Brielle says, but she’s scared to hear what William will say. She knows where is, already, so why is she asking?

“Where he belongs.”

“And where is that?”

“We’ll just say he disappeared and never came back.”

Brielle exhales a shuddery breath.

“Come with me.” William takes her hand and pulls her behind him.

“Can Spencer come?”

A sigh escapes his lips and then he says, “Yes.”

When Brielle gets out the door, she looks for Spencer and grabs his hand when she finds him. Spencer smiles at her reassuringly.

Brielle follows William down the hallway and to a flight of stairs. They walk down and William unlocks a door, then walks in. It’s too dark to make anything out, but Brielle gets an uneasy feeling. She tightens her grip on Spencer’s hand and he squeezes hers in return. Can vampires sense fear? Sense happiness? Emotions? That was one thing Brielle had never found out about the Dandies. That and why the Cobras and Dandies were always at war.

When William stops, he gestures to someone Brielle can’t see and then the lights come on, flooding the room with brightness. Row after row of cells, locked, barred doors with people inside; that’s all she sees. And then her eyes catch a pair of bright green ones and she’s running to them, and the owner of the green pair is standing up quickly and she smashes her hand against the door right where his is. His hand. Andy’s hand.

“Andy,” she whispers and she isn’t sure whether to be happy he’s alive or terrified that he’s here. Surely William wouldn’t break the promise? He wouldn’t lie… would he?

“God, Bri, he got you, too?”

“Oh, Brielle’s here out of her own free will.” William says and there’s a sly tone in his voice and she can hear the smile he’s wearing right now.

“They threatened me.” she whispers and curls her fingers, trying to get ahold of his hand.

“Shit, Bri.”

The tears are so close now. But she can’t cry. Not again, not in front of William again.

“You lied to me.” she says, her voice cracking. “You told me you wouldn’t kill them.”

“That’s what I promised, yes. And I won’t.”

Brielle turns around to look at William and there it is, there’s that sardonic smile she was hearing in his voice.

“So what now?” she asks, and damn if her voice doesn’t break again and give her away. “You imprison them and leave them here to die?”

“Oh, you’re such a smart one, Brielle. I see now why they made you the brains.” And he’s walking away before Brielle can snap back at him.

“I’m talking to you! You can’t just walk away while I’m talking to you!” And now her voice is all desperation and it’s embarrassing, but she has to do something to save them; to save Andy. He’s gone, though, and Spencer’s left standing there awkwardly.

She pulls in a ragged breath and turns back to Andy. “You lied to me, too.”

“What?” he asks, in a breathy voice.

“You told me you worked at the organic food market in town.”

“I do!”

“You’re a vampire hunter.”

Andy squeezes her fingers through the bars with his own. “I didn’t want you to get more involved than you already were.”

“And you didn’t tell me that Pete was one of them.”

“Pete isn’t one of them!” he spits out, disgust in his tone at her calling Pete a Dandie.

“And Dirty. Dirty is one of them. You didn’t tell me that.”

Andy’s eyes widen. “Where is Dirty?”

Brielle looks down, tearing her gaze away from his. “William killed him.”

“Shit,” he breathes out.

“Come on, Brielle, let’s go.” Spencer is pulling her up from where she kneels. She tries not to meet Andy’s eyes when Spencer takes her hand and starts to walk away.

But she does watch Patrick when she passes by him and she smiles at him, which he returns, because he’s Patrick and even in the worst of situations, he smiles.

And then Joe. Joe who looks up only to glare at her. He never liked her anyway. Guess getting him caged up in the hands of the Dandies didn’t put her in his good book.

Pete. Then she walks by Pete and he’s cowering in a corner, hiding his face. And there’s blood. And in the next cell over, the girl is dead on the ground. He’s a vampire. And he killed. Of course he killed.

Spencer tugs on Brielle’s hand and she hasn’t noticed she’s stopped to stare at the freak show until he does. She follows him out of that room. Out of that horrid, barbaric room.


	4. Chapter Four

“William!” Brielle bangs on his door, relentlessly. “William, open this door now! I’m not leaving until you do!”

“Persistent people are irritating.” He says when he finally opens the door.

Brielle shoves him aside and enters the room. “You promised!”

“I did. And I’m not killing them.”

“Leaving them to die is the same thing as killing them!”

“In a perfect world, Brielle-”

“Promise! Promise you won’t leave them to die! Do it!”

“I can’t.”

“Why not? Why can’t you do it!”

William sighs and Brielle is going to cry again and damnit! Why does she always cry around him? He takes her elbow, but she jerks it away from him and hides her face.

“Brielle, you know I’ve told not to do that.” he says, but he doesn’t remove her hands from her face.

Sobbing now. These forceful, body-wracking sobs that she can’t help and they only get worse when she tries to keep them in. She’s shuddering and taking in sharp breaths of air and she’s trying not to, trying not to.

She needs to save them; to save Andy. And William isn’t cooperating. She hears William call for someone who he talks swiftly to and then they leave and she’s left alone with him again and why the fuck does he always make her cry?

“Brielle,”

“Don’t kill them, William.”

William takes her hands and pulls them away, grasping the left one in his own hand and letting the other one fall. Brielle’s eyes are closed, always closed, because she can’t stand to see his face. But even though she can’t see the hand that graces her cheek and the thumb that presses gently into the skin under her eye, she can definitely feel it.

“Brielle, I’ll have them fed. I’ll give them blankets. I’ll make sure that they’re properly taken care of. But you do need to realize that they were working against me. That they kill my vampires. They’ve tried to kill me. And they’ve pulled you into this.”

William rubs his thumb over her cheek, his fingers in her hair at the back of her neck.

“Please calm down.” He says and then, “Have you eaten since you’ve arrived?”

A slow shake of the head to indicate a no. William calls for someone, again, a blonde guy.

“See to it that the hunters are properly taken care of.”

The blonde guy furrows his brows, but says, “Yes, sir.” And that accent is Australian, has to be.

Again, William calls for someone, but this time it’s Spencer. He carefully backs Brielle into Spencer’s hold and tells him, “Have her fed.”

And Brielle finally opens her eyes when Spencer leads her to the door and she watches William, a distressed look on his face, run a hand through his hair.

 

* * *

 

“They have the hunters.”

Gabe sets his jaw. Of course they have the hunters. They have the girl, they have the hunters, but one thing William didn’t have…

Gabe smiles sardonically. “And we have Ross.”

He doesn’t even need to say it.  Ryland brings Ryan to Gabe almost instantly.

“So, Ross, here we are again.”

“Yeah,” Ryan says. He’s not scared of Gabe. But he doesn’t completely trust him either.

“Remember when you used to be a Dandie?”

“I’m a Cobra now.”

Gabe shakes his head. “What do you remember about being a Dandie?”

“I’ve told you this before. He wiped my memories. I don’t remember anything.”

“You say you don’t remember anything. But I know for a fact that you remember Urie. And Smith.”

“I wish he’d wiped those memories away, too, to be completely honest.” And now Ryan feels like shit, because he’s remembering his old friends and the old times, but he can’t quite remember what those old times were, because those must have been in the list of things William took away from him. Missing pieces to stories that used to mean a lot to him.

“There must be something he forgot to erase.” And Ryan can tell Gabe’s getting impatient. But, no, Gabe’s been impatient for much longer now, for years in fact.

“I don’t remember.” Ryan grinds out, because he _really can’t remember_.

“Damnit, Ross!” Gabe shouts and, well, there goes another table lamp.

Ryan’s not happy with Gabe. He doesn’t like living here, being a Cobra. But then he remembers that he hated William and that he completely despised living there with the Dandies. And so he digs deep; searches his mind, because there must be something, a memory that William maybe did forget to erase, a split second of a scene in William’s study where William says something secretive, there must be something.

There it is. A scene with Brendon and now it’s replaying over in Ryan’s head. A memory that William could never have known that Ryan had. And at first, he clung to that memory, because he missed Brendon. Then, he wanted to forget and so he pushed it away.

What did Brendon say? Complaining about William again, muttering a, “Getting too soft, falling for more and more human girls, but he only keeps killing them in the end.”

And Ryan replies with a, “Old-timer’s burnt his position out. Someone else needs to take it. Rule the clan the way it should be ruled.”

And Brendon chuckles, says-

“Gabe!”

Ryan’s instantly pulled out of his memory and Gabe’s staring at him, waiting for him to say something, but Vicky’s slamming the door open.

“Maybe you want to explain this?”

And yeah, there they go again with the arguing. Same old, same old. Like an old, married couple. Drives Ryan up the wall. Wishes they’d just fuck already. Though, he’s not sure it’d solve the problem.

 

* * *

 

“What do you want to eat?”

“I’m not hungry.” Which is a lie, because yeah, Brielle is definitely hungry. But she doesn’t feel like eating. Not when Andy and Patrick’s lives are on the line. Okay, maybe Joe, too, even though he hates her. But Pete; he’s just another one of them. He can rot in hell for all Brielle cares.

“You have to eat something. If you don’t, he’ll be pissed… at me. And I really don’t want to be the one facing William’s wrath.”

“Thought he wasn’t the old William anymore.”

“Will you just eat something?” Brielle can tell that Spencer’s stressed. And yeah, having to wait on her hand and foot, giving her whatever she wants, standing guard outside her door; that isn’t much of a life.

“Can we go out somewhere to eat?”

Spencer cards a hand through his hair. “He’d wring my neck if I took you out of this house.”

“He won’t have to know.”

“He checks up on you every hour. He’ll know.”

“We can be back in under an hour.” Brielle turns her head to look at Spencer beside her. “Besides, aren’t you supposed to give me what whatever I want?”

He sighs and maybe leaving this house could do him so good, too. Get out into the… sun…

“I have to put sunscreen on first. And then grab a pair of sunglasses. Will you wait in your room for me while I do that?”

Brielle nods. Yeah, anything to get out of this place. She’s feeling caged which is ironic, because Andy is the one in the literal cage. Spencer leads Brielle back to her room and she waits for him. When there’s a knock on her door, she assumes it’s Spencer and opens it with a, “So you ready?” but it’s Brendon. And he looks suspicious.

“Where’s Spencer?”

“He… went to his room real quick.”

“Why?” he counters, almost immediately.

“I don’t know. He didn’t tell me.”

“He isn’t supposed to leave you alone.”

“He said he’d be right ba-”

“He isn’t supposed to leave you alone at all for any amount of time.”

Well. Shit. How loyal is Brendon to William? She could tell him the truth, but he’d probably just run back to William to rat them out.

“Look,”

Spencer beats her to it as he walks up. “Bren, we’re going out to eat. I need you to cover for me.”

“She’s not supposed to leave the house.”

“Yeah, but I’m supposed to give her whatever she wants. His orders.”

“His orders also were that she _wasn’t allowed to leave the house_.”

Brielle figures maybe she should step in before this gets ugly. “He’s just taking me out to eat and we’ll back in under an hour. No one will even know we’re gone.”

“But I will,” Brendon says. He glances quickly at Spencer and turns to walk away.

Spencer sighs (he does sigh a lot, doesn’t he?) and takes Brielle’s hand, leading her to the stairs.

 

* * *

 

“He’s going to kill me.”

Brielle isn’t sure who Spencer means; Brendon or William, because they promised they’d be back in under an hour and it’s already been an hour and an extra twenty minutes. And Brielle isn’t sure who’s worse. William said he wasn’t old William anymore, but he didn’t give up the needless killing, did he? Brendon, though, is it just because he doesn’t like Spencer or is he just that loyal to William?

“Shit, he’s going to kill me.” But it’s too late for Brielle to reply, because they’re already inside the house and Spencer is being verbally attacked by the Carden guy.

“Where the fuck have you been? He’s been on a fucking rampage. He’s taking it out on all of us. What’s your fucking prob-”

“Enough, Carden.” And there’s William with Brendon standing beside him and Brielle can’t tell if maybe Brendon looks guilty or if it’s because William’s obviously been pissed lately.

Now, the other vampires have moved in to watch the show and Brielle’s uncomfortable, instinctively scooting closer to Spencer’s side. It’s quiet, though. Everyone seems to be waiting for one thing; for William to kill Spencer.

No, he won’t do that, Brielle thinks and before William can say or do anything, she’s positioned herself in front of Spencer.

“It was my fault. I wanted to get out of here and I wasn’t hungry. Spencer knew you’d be angry if I didn’t eat and it was the only way he could get me to. I promised we’d be back in under an hour and we weren’t and it’s my fault, not his.”

Now they’re definitely all looking at her. It’s making her uncomfortable, even more so than she was before.

“Well that certainly doesn’t excuse his actions of not informing me first.”

Why is he so calm? Carden’d said he was furious.

“It was my fault.” She whispers and she looks straight into William’s eyes when she says it. He locks gazes with her and a few seconds after it happens, everyone leaves the room as if they’ve been commanded to. Brendon, Spencer, William, and Brielle are the only ones left.

The first rule, if you ever encountered a Dandie, was to never look right into their eyes. And Brielle had broken it.


	5. Chapter Five

_“Here, this is what Dirty gave me today.”_

_Patrick’s shoving books and papers across the table towards Brielle._

_“I thought Andy told me he’d be here this time.” she says as she takes the papers from Patrick and looks through them._

_“He got caught up at the organic food market. They wanted him to fill in for someone.”_

_Brielle is disappointed, because this is the third time this has happened. She’s starting to think maybe Patrick is lying to her and Andy just doesn’t want to be here with her. Despite her dismay, she continues reading Patrick’s scrawlings on the papers. “So they hypnotize people?” she asks and looks up to glance at Patrick who is cleaning his glasses with his shirt._

_“Um, do they?”_

_“How else could William afford a mansion to house all his members? And the ugly 50’s suits.”_

_This makes Patrick laugh. “They are tacky.”_

_“This book just has records of disappearances of women whose witnesses say they just walked to strange men like they were being hypnotized.”_

_“So they do hypnotize…”_

_“But only women?”_

_Patrick bites his lip. “I don’t like leaving you alone here, especially when we find out things like this.”_

_Brielle laughs. “What business do the Dandies have with me? You don’t have to worry about anything, Patrick. I’ll be fine.”_

_Patrick doesn’t reply, instead pulls over another records book._

_“Where’d you get these records anyway?” she asks, returning to reading._

_“Pete got them from the sheriff’s department.”_

_Brielle looks up sharply. “How?” How on earth did Pete get these?_

_“That’s none of our business.” And the topic is dropped._

_A few moments of silence pass before Patrick glances up, donning a thoughtful expression. “How do they hypnotize people?”_

_“Probably mind games.”_

_“Unless…”_

_Brielle looks up, too, and a grin is growing on her lips. “Unless what?”_

_“Unless it’s their eyes. What if these girls looked into their eyes and that’s how they were hypnotized?”_

_Another laugh escapes Brielle’s mouth. “Then we’ll make it the golden rule to never look into a Dandie’s eyes.”_

_Patrick smiles back. “Agreed.”_

 

* * *

Brielle can’t remove her gaze from William’s and it’s terrifying. She can’t move, but it’s not because she’s planted to the spot. It’s because her muscles feel too weak to support her. It feels as if all the energy is drained from her body, but she’s still standing completely upright without the support of Spencer standing beside her.

And then there’s a voice in her head saying, _“Come here.”_ And she obeys it.

No matter how bad she wants to tell herself not to move forward, not to go to him, she doesn’t have the energy to make herself stop or even think about stopping.

_She fucking obeys him._

And when she gets within a foot of him, she stops. They’re so close.

_“Your wrist.”_

And by God if she doesn’t lift her wrist up and place it into William’s open palm.

She wants to tell him to stop, to quit controlling her; that he has no fucking right to do this. But she _can’t._

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Brendon’s brows furrow, but then he disappears from the room, leaving William and Brielle to themselves. Brielle still can’t break the eye contact, but when William glances down and removes his gaze from her, it’s as if the spell is gone and she can think properly again.

Just as she’s about to tell William to fuck off, she watches him bring her wrist to his mouth and bite down. There’s a sharp pain that makes Brielle jerk and pull her hand back, but she can’t, because William has a tight grip on her arm, holding her firmly in place.

“Let go,” she whimpers and this pain is nothing compared to the time she had to get blood taken from her hand. It’s so much more intense and heart-stuttering. Her breath catches in her throat and it hurts so bad now that she stands completely still, worried that if she moves her arm at all, the stinging pain will shoot up and cause her to black out.

She’s about to whisper a quiet, “Please,” when William’s fangs pull out of her skin and she almost does pass out when she feels them retreat from her arm. Brielle lets out a small whine, but the pain is gone now; not completely, but mostly.

William straightens up and looks at her. “You’re mine now.”

Brielle doesn’t have the energy to even say, ‘I don’t belong to anyone, you pretentious prick.’, because she’s light-headed and it’s becoming hard to stand. She slumps against William’s body and he wraps his right arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. A small breeze blows against her. She opens her eyes narrowly and they’re in a bedroom now.

William doesn’t even need to hypnotize her when he says quietly, “Sleep.” She’s already one step ahead of him.

 

* * *

 

Gabe can sense his presence even before Ryland comes to tell him he’s here. He’s got a lot of nerve showing up in Gabe’s vicinity. When he enters the room, Gabe turns around.

“Beckett,” he says, a blank expression holding his features.

A slow nod of the head as William acknowledges him. “Saporta.”

“What right do you have to be here?”

“Well,” William sighs. “I’d like to talk about the girl.”

This makes Gabe scoff. “Which girl?”

“Really, Saporta, must we bring that up in such a crucial moment?”

“Must you still speak as if you’re still living in the 1800’s?” And it feels good to get a jab at William where he can hear it, even if it’s such a small one.

William frowns. “Must you still act like a child?” he snaps.

“Veronica must not have thought I was a child.”

A flash of fury crosses William’s visage. “Do not speak of her.” he snarls and Gabe smirks, happy to have pressed his buttons. “I am here strictly on business.”

“And the girl would be your business?”

“I would like to ask you not to pursue her. She’s under my care now.”

An incredulous laugh leaves Gabe’s lips. “And that means? That, what, I can’t find a clever way to kidnap her and use her to destroy you?”

“Yes, it’s childish. And I’ve marked her.”

“So the rumors are true.” Gabe says, a grin playing on his face. “William Beckett has gone soft and has fallen for human girls. Are you worried that history will repeat itself if I get ahold of her, then?”

“You’re completely impossible to compromise with.” And William’s snarling again. He’s fed up with Gabe’s bullshit. How could he have thought maybe they could make amends?

Gabe stands abruptly from where he’s sitting and says brusquely, “You’d think I’d ever compromise with you?

“I was hoping that maybe you’d be able to let the past go, but obviously I was wrong.”

“You ruined my life, you made me this, you stole my soul from me.” Gabe’s in William’s face now, but William isn’t backing down. He’s not scared of him. “You do not get to choose whether you and I reconcile. I will look for any way I can to destroy you and I won’t stop until you’re a pile of grey ashes lying at my fucking feet.”

William removes all emotion from his features. “Then I guess this means war.”

 

* * *

 

It only takes five seconds for Brielle to remember what William had done to her last night before she’s shoving the blankets off of her and stomping towards the bedroom door. She flings it open and firmly grasps the shirt of the first vampire she sees.

“Where is he?!”

“Let go of me, girl.” He says, placing a hand on Brielle’s and prying her fingers from the front of his shirt.

“Where’s William? Tell me!”

“Chill out, woman! He’s out right now.” The man is smoothing down his white, button-up and adjusting his black tie.

“Brielle, I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” And now Spencer has entered the scene and thank God, because Brielle’s starting to feel intimidated by this man in front of her.

“You should keep a better eye on this thing.” The man says, furrowing his brows.

“Sorry Travie-” Spencer starts, but Brendon is butting in now.

“Spencer, William has relieved you of your duty to watch Brielle today. It’s my responsibility now.”

Spencer lets out a sigh and is all ready and set to leave… until he glances at Brielle. The look she’s giving him says, ‘Don’t you dare leave me here with Brendon.’ But the look Brendon is giving him says, ‘Leave.’

“Honestly, Spencer, I have this taken care of.” Brendon has already wrapped his fingers around Brielle’s left arm and is pulling her towards him gently and away from Spencer. Spencer quickly flashes Brielle an apologetic glance and disappears from the room. Why argue?

Brendon then turns to Travie. “Is there a problem here?”

“No, sir, there’s no problem here, toady.” And there’s an atmosphere of sarcasm wrapping itself around the three.

Brendon’s face is void of emotion. “What’d you call me?”

“Nothing at all,” Travie replies warmly and walks away.

“Called you a kiss-ass.” Brielle mutters, pulling herself free from Brendon’s loose grasp.

“Yes, I heard clearly-”

“’Cause you are one.”

Brave, little thing, Brendon thinks, having the balls to insult him. Spencer might take that crap, but Brendon sure as hell doesn’t.

“And how so?” he asks.

Brielle glances at him, and yeah, she was right, she’s much taller than him. “You’re too loyal to William. Probably do anything he tells you to. Bet you’d fuck him if he told you to.”

Brendon huffs and it’s comical, because there’s no way Brielle ever could have imagined him doing that.

“I wouldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t you?” And Brendon’s quiet for a moment. “That’s what I thought. By the way, where is William?”

“Out,” Brendon rolls his eyes and begins walking down the hall, half-hoping that Brielle won’t follow. She does.

“That’s what Travie said. But out where?”

Brendon should have left her with Spencer and dealt with William’s repercussions later. He doesn’t have the time to cater to this human girl’s every whim and he certainly doesn’t have the patience to answer her incessant questions.

“If he wanted you to know where he was going, I believe he would have told you.”

Brielle begins to open her mouth, but he continues. “You seem too dependent upon him. You’re also becoming too bold. You need to be knocked down a few pegs.”

She can’t even respond. He’s left her speechless.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll have Michael cook you something.”

They’ve entered the kitchen now and why would vampires need a kitchen? Brielle stays quiet, though, and Brendon sighs. “Whatever you get, you eat.” He disappears from the room and returns minutes later with the blonde vampire.

He flashes Brielle a white-toothed grin. “Anything specific?” He asks with a clear Australian accent and waits for a response that he doesn’t get. “…Alright then… I’ll just… make something.”

Brendon props himself against a counter and crosses his arms across his chest, watching Michael work intently.

Brielle takes in a deep breath. “He kidnapped me, kept me trapped here, tricked me, bit me, told me I belonged to him, and stuck me with you. I apologize if that makes me dependent upon someone. Especially when I still can’t think straight from last night.”

Michael says nothing, acting as if he didn’t hear a thing. Brendon, however, raises an eyebrow, the one with the scar. “You waited for that long to say that?”

“I don’t like you.” Brielle spits out.

“Perfect,” he interjects. “I don’t like you, either.”

“Spencer was nicer.”

“I’m not Spencer.” Brendon growls and Michael decides to interfere this time.

He smiles a cheerful smile and shoots it Brielle’s way. “Do you like pancakes? What about bacon? How do you like your eggs?”

“Burnt. Burnt until they’re fucking black like a vampire’s heart.”

Brendon lets her slam open the kitchen door and walk out. He hopes she gets eaten by one of the fledglings. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so you know how the dandies were wearing these really ridiculous looking outfts in the video?
> 
> well, in my story, since william isn't old william anymore, i figured their style would change
> 
> and it would be like
> 
> clean-cut suits with bowties and yeah that seemed perfect because i've seen ryan in a suit and brenodn in one and i just thought yeah that would work and then i saw this picture
> 
> http://hanginonahoneymoon.tumblr.com/post/75030865893
> 
> and it does not work for william. you'd think he'd look good in a suit. because here's ryan
> 
> http://37.media.tumblr.com/604487120342d0d1ff9c6b841c077897/tumblr_n6rp9uYWq91s9pggwo2_250.jpg
> 
> DAMN SON, right?
> 
> and brendon
> 
> http://37.media.tumblr.com/7bb2b8c42e8a43a8bcc1d3fc47b0406c/tumblr_n7bvntyVxY1ro1npvo1_r1_500.jpg
> 
> but you know minues the tacky fur thing he's got BUT HELLO THEY LOOK HELLA GORGEOUS RIGHT????
> 
> HOW DOES WILLIAM NOT LOOK GOOD INA SUIT?!!!!!!!!!!????????
> 
> (I wrote this to a friend, and wow, you'd think I'd have some awful grammar looking at this.)


End file.
